Don’t call me a fairythough I may be fae.Watch over your childlest I take her away.I want to trade placesand live in your world,grow up dressed in satin,be prettily pearled.I’ll make the change quickly.Don’t worry: your gain!Your real child will flourishin wind and in rain,out in the woodswith the best faery folk.No, I’m not kidding.This isn’t a joke.

Yes! I have had a poem nominated for The Rhysling Award! No, this isn’t it. I didn’t want to post that poem until after the votes were in. This poem, “Don’t Call Me a Fairy,” was nominated for the same award in 2014. It didn't win. It's about the European (especially Irish) folklore tradition of "changelings"-- fairies exchanging one of their own for a human child, a properly fantastical speculative topic.

I wanted to share a little bit about speculative poetry since I have so much fun writing it and because not everyone may be familiar with it. I only learned about spec. poetry because my husband, poet Malcolm Deeley, used to write a lot of it before turning to novel writing (he's got five volumes on Amazon.) Speculative poetry comprises science fiction, fantasy and horror; obviously for children, that would be very mild horror.

Writing speculative poetry is a nice change from writing purely children’s poetry. While most spec. markets are for adult poetry, there are a number of markets for younger children, MG and YA - Spaceports and Spidersilk and Frostfire Worlds are two that come to mind. If you are interested, check here for additional markets and check out the SFPA (Science Fiction Poetry Association) site in general if you would like more information and/or to view the various awards and contests the SFPA offers.

My post, today, is an announcement. There is at least one opening (maybe more) in The Poets’ Garage, an online workshop for children’s’poets, where I have been a member for nearly10 years. I have found it to be an invaluable resource for improving my poetry craft and knowledge. Check out our WEBSITE to get a better idea of who we are. We are seeking active members.

Here is the announcement from our leader:

Hello Poets,

Poets' Garage currently has an opening for membership. If you are already on our waiting list, you will receive an application shortly.

Poets' Garage is a children's poetry critique group which formed in 2005. We have our own private message board where we post and critique poetry.

The majority of our poetry is metrical but free verse and all forms are welcome. Our authors write poems for various ages from baby to young adult. We also will crit rhyming picture book text of up to 1000 words. Over the years, our members have sold countless poems and a number of rhyming picture books.

Our Requirements:

Members are to critique a minimum of TWO poems each month.

Members are to post a minimum of TWO poems for critique each quarter.

Members are expected to give about the same number of critiques as they receive.

If you think the Garage would be a good fit for you - we are looking for active members as opposed to members who may want to just do minimums - request an application from Bill at widepe@gmail.com. Thank you! Looking forward to seeing one or more of you in the Poet's Garage soon!

Author

B. J. Lee is a children’s author and poet. Her picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, is launching with Pelican Publishing on February 15, 2019. She has poems in 25 poetry anthologies published by Little, Brown, Wordsong, BloomsburyUK, National Geographic, Otter-Barry Books, Pomelo Books, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has worked with anthologists Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt. She has written poems for such children’s magazines as Spider, Highlights and The School Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @bjlee_writer.